Unlikely Love
by Duncan Idaho
Summary: A Neville/ginny Romance. The first of its kind as far as I know. Review Please!


All characters in the following story are the property of J.K. Rowling.   
This story is not meant to make money.   
  
Unlikely Love by Jake Sadovsky  
  
"Hermione, could I ask you a question?" She looked at him in  
surprise.   
This was the moment he had been waiting for.  
  
"Sure, Neville, what do you want?" He took a deep breath.  
  
"Will you go out with me?"  
  
"Oh Neville of course I will!" Briiiiiiiiing. "There's the bell. I'll call  
you later, Neville, love!"Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.   
  
Neville Longbottom awoke with a start. He looked around. He was  
lying in his bed in the Gryffindor dorm on the first day of the new term at  
the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Curse that stupid alarm  
clock. My dreams are all I have and it ruins them every time.   
  
Every night for the past week, Neville entered a world where he was  
powerful and respected. But that could never happen for real. I'm just   
a weakling, a freak. What made it all the more galling was that, in his  
dreams, he was loved by Hermione Granger. How could he ever tell her  
that he loved her, too? She is so wonderful, so respected, so in control.   
She could never love me for real. He glanced at the time. Oh no I'm   
nearly late to class. Gram will kill me if she finds out I was late to   
transfiguration   
on the first day!  
  
Neville had flunked that same class last year. His grandmother had  
been furious. He threw on his robes and dashed into the hall, pausing   
only to yell the new password at the portrait of the fat lady which guarded   
the entrance to the Gryffindor dorm. The people in the pictures hung in   
the hallway laughed as they watched the lone figure dash through the   
empty hall. Neville gritted his teeth and put on a burst of speed.   
  
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips as Neville threw himself through  
the door ten minutes late. He slumped into his seat when he heard her   
say, "Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger will remain after class."  
  
Have I somehow gotten her in trouble?  
  
"Hey Neville, why did you missed breakfast?" asked Dean Thomas,  
who sat next to him.  
  
"I, ah, overslept." said Neville, turning red.  
  
He could barely concentrate on the lesson, worrying about getting   
in trouble. It was almost relief when the bell sounded, ending the class.  
  
"Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger, could you come up here for a  
second?" Now I'm going to get it.  
  
"Don't look so worried, Longbottom."said the professor. "Now I know  
you have had your difficulties in this class in the past, so this year I am  
assigning Miss Granger here to be your tutor." He looked at Hermione   
in shock. This isn't a punishment. It is a gift from heaven. McGonagall   
saw the badly concealed look of joy on his face and shook her head.  
  
"I can't imagine why you are so happy, Longbottom. This is a last  
resort. If you fail again you will be expelled. I wish you'd take it more  
seriously."She glanced up. "You had better hurry or you will be late again."  
  
As he headed to his next class, Neville felt as though he was floating  
in the clouds. Me, all alone with Hermione Granger. Surely I can find  
someway to tell her how I feel. He was so oblivious that he didn't notice  
that he had crashed head long into Ginny Weasly.  
  
"Oh Ginny I'm sorry!" he said as he stared into her deep green eyes.   
Wow.   
  
"That's....okay, Neville. I should have watched where you were  
going."  
said Ginny, blushing fiercely. "Oh, there's the bell!"  
  
Great, I'm late again, he thought as he rushed to class. I never  
noticed Ginny before. Those eyes...  
  
That night Neville was waiting in the common room. In walked  
Hermione and Ginny.  
  
"Ginny,"he said, "what are you doing here?"  
  
"It's my common room, too." she smiled. "Anyway, Hermione is  
tutoring me."  
  
"Oh."he said, turning red. She's very pretty. Especially when she  
smiles...   
  
He's so handsome, thought Ginny. I was sure I liked Harry, but  
now...  
  
"Hey Hermione, how was tutoring?" Harry asked his friend later as  
they sat with Ron in the common room.  
  
"Strange."Hermione said thoughtfully  
  
"How so?"Ron wondered.  
  
"I caught them staring at each other when the other wasn't looking  
several times."  
  
"Thank you, God!"breathed Harry. His friends looked at him  
questioningly.  
  
"If Neville and Ginny get together, Ginny won't be interested in me  
anymore."he explained.  
  
"With my sister out of the picture, you can focus on Cho!" Ron teased.  
  
"Funny,"said Harry. "C'mon, we have to study."  
  
The next morning at breakfast Neville made sure that Ginny wasn't  
sitting with anybody before casually sliding in across from her at the  
Gryffindors table.  
  
"Anybody sitting here?" he asked.  
  
"No," she said shyly. "I don't really have any friends to sit with."  
  
"That's a shame."he smiled. Then he saw Draco Malfoy heading  
towards their table.  
  
"Hey, Weasly you desperate for a date with another loser like you?"  
Draco laughed. "Given up on big, strong Potter over there?"  
  
"Back off, punk!"said Neville, bravely. Malfoy stopped laughing.  
  
"Since when do they sell guts, Longbottom? That's the only way  
you'll get any!" he said.  
  
"What's going on over there?" called Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Nothing," muttered Malfoy, slinking away.  
  
"Wow, Neville, that was amazing!" Ginny looked at him adoringly.   
"Since when are you so brave?"  
  
"Only since I met you." he said, whispered self consciously as the   
bell rang for the first class.  
  
The next few months passed in a blur. Neville could not remember   
ever being so happy. He was with Ginny as often as possible. They talked   
about everything. He told her about being as close to non magical as  
a wizard could get in an all magic family. She told of being looked down   
on by all six of her brothers and how no one ever took her seriously.  
  
All their grades improved. Neville's magic could do no wrong.   
Ginny's   
spells were more potent than ever. Snape couldn't find a single   
thing   
to criticize, which everyone agreed was a first for him. On the last day   
of school they sat out by the lake.  
  
"I'll miss you over the summer." said Ginny  
  
"But you'll see me again in the fall, and I'll send you a ton of owls."   
he replied.  
  
"I love you, Neville  
  
"I love you to, Gin."  
  
And they lived happily ever after.  
  
  
  
___The End___ 


End file.
